State News 58, July 2010 - Clover Moore MP, Lord Mayor of Sydney

CLOVER MOORE MEMBER FOR SYDNEY
NEWSLETTER 58 JULY 2010
Photo by C.Moore Hardy
PEOPLE RALLY
against SCG grab for Moore Park
After a leaked letter revealed the
NSW Government is considering
transferring control of Moore Park
from the Centennial Park and Moore
Park Trust (CPMPT) to the Sydney
Cricket and Sports Ground Trust
(SCG), people packed Paddington
Town Hall on a wet night to object.
Thank you to fellow speakers the Hon
Neville Wran, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull,
CPMPT Chair John Walker and Greens
Councillor David Shoebridge.
The CPMPT mandate is to protect
and maintain public open space,
while the SCG’s role is to promote
commercial sporting events. The SCG
wants Moore Park to expand club-land
and car parking.
The Premier has now told the two
trusts to negotiate, but the issue in
contention is totally unacceptable. The
SCG wants to site NRL Headquarters
on the Gold Members car park, which
it got rezoned for development. It
wants to put the displaced car parking
on Moore Park.
Where is this going to end...? Would
this happen to New York’s Central
Park, London’s Hyde Park or Rome’s
Villa Borghese?
Rally speakers: John Walker, David Shoebridge, Clover Moore,
Neville Wran and Malcolm Turnbull
Moore Park is part of the 1811 Governor
Macquarie 405 hectare Sydney Common
bequest. Only a third remains as open
public land and with Sydney’s increasing
residential densities, we certainly
can’t lose any more!
URGENT call to ACTION!
Tell our State leaders to stop further
alienation of our parkland.
Act today to stop the SCG spreading
‘clubland’ and car parking over
Moore Park.
Your emails, letters and phone calls
can help stop the theft.
Send them to >
Premier KRISTINA KENEALLY
Level 40 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrar Place, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 9228 5239
Email: premier@nsw.gov.au
Opposition Leader BARRY O’FARRELL
Parliament House, Macquarie Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 9230 2270
Email: LOP@parliament.nsw.gov.au
Electorate Office 58 Oxford Street Paddington NSW 2021
T 02 9360 3053 F 02 9331 6963 E sydney@parliament.nsw.gov.au
FROM
PARLIAMENT
Same-sex
adoption overdue
My Adoption Amendment (Same Sex Couples) Bill
would remove discrimination against same-sex
couples trying to adopt.
This is vital for “known adoptions”
where one parent comes to a
relationship with children, but
the new partner cannot be
legally recognised if he/she
is of the same gender, leaving
the children insecure.
The Government and Opposition combined to allow
commercial tourist developments like private resorts,
function centres, fast food outlets and retail shops in
our national parks. National parks and wilderness areas
should be managed to conserve nature, not to promote
profit from tourism.
There is strong community
support for same-sex adoption
and unlike in 2000 when no
other Member of Parliament
supported my amendments, both
the Premier and Leader of the
Opposition have said their parties
will be allowed a conscience vote.
National Parks
exposed to
development
Despite legal advice showing potential damage to national
parks, only one other MP – Greg Piper Independent for Lake
Macquarie, supported my opposition to the National Parks
and Wildlife Amendment (Visitors and Tourists) Bill.
Photo by Andrew Cox
One small step
for dog owners
Dog owners can finally legally take
their dogs to alfresco dining areas.
How revolutionary!... What has been
commonplace in other countries for
decades is now permitted here, in
a limited way.
But the Government didn’t go
overboard. My call in the debate on
the Companion Animals Amendment
(Outdoor Dining Areas) Bill to allow
pets on public transport was ignored
as subversive.
Cycling... real benefits
In Parliament I reported independent
research conducted for the City of
Sydney which shows an economic
benefit of $4 for every dollar spent
on separated cycleways compared
to $2 on motorways.
Cycling is part of the solution to traffic
congestion. Half of inner city car trips
are less than five kilometres and would
be quicker by bike, but many people who
would ride don’t because they feel unsafe.
Separated cycleways improve safety by
giving cyclists their own two-way dedicated
lanes protected by a median strip. The
recent State budget allocated $56 million
over four years on missing cycle path links.
MORE NEWS ON SYDNEY ELECTORATE ISSUES visit www.clovermoore.com
FROM
PARLIAMENTcontinued
A single transport authority
After years of calling for a single
transport authority, the Transport
NSW Director General was given
control of all transport infrastructure,
policy, planning and services. The
Transport Administration Amendment Bill
merges rail, bus, ferry, cycling, roads and
freight budgets and replaces numerous
transport boards with a single body.
In Parliament I called for planning to
reflect the green transport hierarchy,
public transport, cycling and walking.
Unfortunately the renewed opportunity
for better planning and delivery has been
offset again by splitting the transport and
roads portfolios between two ministers.
community campaign the Government
is auditing Walsh Bay transport, but
refuses to consider bus services
between Fiveways and the Edgecliff
interchange. I also continue to argue
that the 311 bus should travel to
Circular Quay and via the Elizabeth
Bay loop.
In response to my calls and a strong
Register to help all relationships
Parliament supported a watered down version of a bill I introduced
13 years ago to allow adult couples to register their relationship,
ensuring their legal rights. The Government’s Relationships Register
Bill could help give couples including same-sex couples common
relationship recognition and rights.
Loving relationships provide stability and a sense of belonging and should
be recognised and protected.
More needed to
protect aboriginal
cultural heritage
The National Parks and Wildlife Amendment Bill increases
penalties, simplifies enforcement procedures and creates
new orders to fix damage to national parks, reserves,
threatened species and Aboriginal cultural heritage.
City planning
under State
review
The Central Sydney Planning Committee
(CSPC) comprises of State and Local
representatives to assess inner city
developments over $50 million.
I told Parliament that a genuine review
would seek to increase the cost threshold
While the Director General will have to consult Aboriginal
people and consider cultural significance before permitting
damage to Aboriginal heritage, economic interests must also
be considered, which could allow continued destruction.
In Parliament, I called for standalone legislation to protect
Aboriginal heritage as exists in all other states and territories.
for developments that go to the CSPC,
which have remained unchanged since
1988; and bring all central Sydney
planning under the Council and CSPC
instead of the fragmented planning
of numerous bodies like the Redfern
Waterloo Authority and the Sydney
Harbour Foreshore Authority.
The CSPC is a public forum and is
advised by a design panel made up
of award winning architects.
There are rumours that some in the
Good outcome for the heritage ‘Money
Box’ building at Martin Place
development lobby want to abolish the
CSPC to replace it with an unelected
and faceless planning panel and more
assessments by the Planning Minister.
REACH US BY EMAIL at sydney@parliament.nsw.gov.au
LOCAL
NEWS
St Vincent’s development & concept plans
Part 3A is removing council and resident involvement in
design and development. This is especially important for
an expanding land locked institution such as the St Vincent’s
precinct interfacing with residential terraces and city heritage.
Efforts to reduce bulk on the site have met with little success
and 1870s terraces have gone.
The broadly supported 2005 Master Plan was withdrawn,
and my submission on the new plan requested fewer parking
spaces to discourage car use, that traffic be redirected away
from narrow backstreets, and that proposed building heights
be reduced to prevent overshadowing of adjacent homes.
Victor Chang Institute to be obscured and overshadowed by what is to come.
Scottish Hospital aged accommodation
Presbyterian Aged Care NSW plans
to redevelop the Scottish Hospital site
in Paddington with 90 independent
living units and 104 high-care beds.
Unlike the 2002 proposal, heritage trees
will be maintained, an enlarged park to
the north of the site will likely be dedicated
for community use, and despite being a
Part 3A application, the church is consulting
the community. Residents who have
contacted my office are concerned
about the bulk and scale, loss of views
from Glenview and Glen streets, and
traffic impacts.
I attended a briefing session, met with
church consultants and made a submission
based on your feedback.
Anzac Memorial
The Anzac Memorial serves as an important reminder of the sacrifices that
Australian service men and women continue to make for our country.
During debate on the Anzac Memorial (Building) Amendment Bill, I welcomed
heritage listing of this fine example of Art Deco architecture, and the new
structure of the Trust which will have stronger community involvement and
an educational role.
Liquor licence
freeze in specified
areas to continue
The freeze on new liquor licences on Oxford Street
Darlinghurst, Darlinghurst Road Kings Cross and
George Street south will continue for another
12 months.
Former Premier Rees introduced the freeze in response
to my advocacy to limit the growth in licensed premises
in problem areas where there are unreasonable
impacts on residential amenity and on police and
health resources.
...but Labor and
Liberal still in
the grip of the AHA
The Government and Opposition combined to block my
amendment to the Liquor Legislation Amendment Bill to prevent
new inner city liquor licences from trading between midnight
Sunday and 5.00am Monday. This is the case for the rest of
Sydney, but inner city neighbourhoods continue to be the Sunday
night venue to get drunk, be violent and mess up the streets.
The Government also refused my proposals to make late trading
reviewable and enable new licence applications to be refused
based on a saturation of licensed premises in a neighbourhood.
SEE CLOVER’S SPEECHES in Parliament at www.clovermoore.com/speeches
ENVIRONMENT
River Red
Gums WIN
National and regional parks and
Indigenous Protected Areas will
replace heavy logging in the
internationally Ramsar-listed
river red gum wetlands.
The old-growth river red gum forests
support the Murray and Murrumbidgee
and provide essential carbon sinks. Yet
logging at over double the sustainable
rate for low value firewood, fenceposts and railway sleepers has left
over 75 per cent of
remaining red gum
trees in some areas
stressed or dying.
Evidence shows
NSW funds red gum
logging at a loss.
During debate on the
National Park Estate
(Riverina Red Gum Reservation) Bill
(No.2), I reminded Parliament that the
Photo courtesy of National Parks Association
river red gum national parks in Victoria
created more jobs than logging.
But South East Forests still need HELP...
My 1993 South East Forests Protection Bill, while blocked in the Upper House by Fred Nile, was used to preserve key
wilderness and forest areas when the Carr Government later won office.
My submissions, petitions and questions in Parliament are pushing for protection of Mumbulla and Yurammie forests, and
koala habitats, which are still at risk from logging, and a stop to the proposed woodchip-fired power station at Eden.
Packaging needs
legislated controls
Products are increasingly being sold
within layers of resource-intensive
and hard-to-recycle packaging such
as plastic, foam, cardboard and steel.
This increases litter and landfill; wastes
finite resources like fresh water, oil
and old growth forests; and creates
greenhouse gas emissions.
While European countries have strict
refill policies, set mandatory recycling
targets for material types, and put
recycling costs on producers, Australia
has only ineffective voluntary codes.
In Parliament, I again called for
legislation with binding recycling,
re-use and production targets; a
ban on non-recyclable packaging;
and container deposit levies for
easy-to-recycle beverage containers.
Gardens of Stone
VANDALISM
A recent report by the Colong Foundation for Wilderness
shows underground mining is causing catastrophic
damage to the cliff lines, sandstone formations and swamps
of the Gardens of Stone, which adjoin the Greater Blue
Mountains World Heritage Area.
In Parliament I asked questions about mining restrictions in
sensitive areas, prevention of further damage, and remediation.
eNEWS
Cliff damage caused by underground mining.
Photo by Colong Foundation for Wilderness
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COMMUNITY
Overdue recognition
for carers
Carers help people who are frail or
have a disability, or mental, terminal
or chronic illness, saving the NSW
health system around $10 billion
each year.
They help to feed, bathe, dress or
administer medication and provide
emotional support to isolated people,
often at the expense of their own
health, and economic and social
advancement.
The Carers (Recognition) Bill requires
government agencies to follow a Carers
Charter of Principles and establishes
a Carers Advisory Council to advise
government, helping to prevent carers
being treated merely as a resource
and increasing their education, social
and work opportunities.
During debate I discussed the vital
and challenging work of local carers
and I have joined the Parliamentary
Friends of Carers.
F O R G O T T E N Australians
I have asked the Community
Services Minister to ensure
effective use of funds for
Forgotten Australians – adults
who were raised in orphanages,
children’s homes and foster
homes. Official reports show
that many Forgotten Australians
suffered systematic neglect as
well as mental, physical and
sexual abuse, and some still
suffer long-term effects.
About 200,000 children in NSW
were placed in institutional care
from the 1950s, but were forgotten
by the bodies responsible for
their care. While both the Prime
Minister and Premier have
apologised, I support community
calls for targeted practical
information and help.
Modest
tenancy law
improvements
The Residential Tenancies Bill
fixes some important problems
in the existing law to benefit
both tenants and landlords.
It will be easier to update leases
as tenants change in share
houses, and to get a landlord’s
permission to make minor
changes such as hanging
pictures. Tenants will have
more time to leave a property
after they receive notice.
I hope that landlords will lift
their pet bans with changes
that allow them to require
professional carpet cleaning,
and that allowing landlords
to charge water rates will
encourage water saving
practices and installations
in rental properties.
Boarders and lodgers were
excluded from the bill and I
again asked the Government
to legislate occupancy
agreements to protect
their basic rights.
Ecologically responsible printing techniques using recycled paper
and sustainable forests are used for this newsletter production.